Keep 'Eye on the Prize' as ATSC 3.0 Marches Toward 'Candidate Standard,' ATSC President Urges Framers

ATSC is looking ahead to 2015 "with eager anticipation, tempered with a healthy dose of cautious optimism," as the next-gen ATSC 3.0 broadcast system approaches the status of a "candidate standard" in the months ahead, ATSC President Mark Richer said in a President's Memo in ATSC's monthly newsletter, published Friday. "The process is the process, and there will need to be some give and take" as ATSC's "TG3" technology group works to make the candidate standard a reality, Richer said. The ATSC board "is urging TG3 participants to keep their eye on the prize and quickly resolve issues that arise or find ways to move forward on a path toward resolution" as the candidate standard is finalized, he said. "The eyes of the world are on the ATSC and our disciplined, inclusive, open approach to standards-setting. As such, it’s crucial that the new standard both moves ahead expeditiously and meets the varied needs of broadcasters, manufacturers and viewers in the United States and around the world."